This is my recipe for egg drop soup, distilled from about five or six sources. Everyone has their own way of making things, and of course this recipe is no different. Some people call for a pile of chopped vegetables for egg drop soup, others insist upon noodles, and still others say it's not egg drop if there are more than eggs in it. This recipe is simple, flavorful, fast and easy. I have received only raving compliments (no exaggeration) whenever I've made it. So here I'm sharing with you my special recipe for egg drop soup.
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups beef broth
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 T soy sauce
1/2 T sugar (or less)
ginger and white pepper to taste, I use a few dashes of each
1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil (optional, but add it before the eggs if you use it)
4 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup water (optional)
Combine everything except the eggs and the onions in a medium to large sized sauce pan, bring the broth to a bowl and then reduce it to a simmer. In a bowl mix the eggs, you can use a fork or a whisk, I use a fork since a fork is required for the next part.
Stir the broth and remove the stirring-spoon so the broth continues to swirl, then slowly pour the eggs over the tines of a fork. When the broth stops moving, stop pouring and gently stir again - repeat until you run out of egg. (This will make the long thin strands of egg, if you like big clumps, slowly add all the egg into a still pot of broth, but not all in one spot, move the bowl as you pour so it isn't one giant piece of egg.) Immediately add the onion and simmer for about 2 minutes.
Do not boil the soup after you've added the eggs unless you like your egg pieces to be smaller than grains of rice.
Some people add noodles to egg drop soup, and you can if you like, I would use egg noodles or ramen if you think noodles are a good idea. I've also heard that white rice is good in egg drop soup, cooked first of course!
I say the last 1/4 cup of water is optional because of salt preference. Without it I think it is a little too salty, but then I don't care for salt, so your soup may not need it. The optional sesame oil adds a slight smoky flavor, it is good, but I only add it about half of the time. It is pretty strong, so you only need a small amount. (It's also good for making peanut chicken - I'll blog it eventually because it is so good and so spicy!)
Now you can prepare a simple but crowd pleasing soup. It is easy to make half the amount or double the amount. The measurements above serve 4-6 depending on bowl size. This is a great (light) meal on its own, or a great precursor to your main dish. Try pairing it with Chinese cabbage salad, fried rice, teriyaki chicken, or even sushi. Or you can do like I did on Wednesday and pair it with penne Alfredo and asparagus. It tastes so good, it can go with any type of food! :D
So let me know if you like it! And when you prepare it, give me a little credit, since I took the time to experiment for the last four years to make it perfect!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Just Go With It
Sometimes when you are cooking things don't go the way you imagined. That's when it's most important to improvise, and be courageous enough to eat the results.
Today I made tostadas, kind of. I made refried beans, spicy rice and fried corn tortillas. I forgot to cook meat and we were out of peppers and onions. I had diced tomato in the refrigerator but forgot to add them. Sometimes new recipes are born of forgetfulness.
On the bottom was, of course, the corn tortilla. Then a layer of refried beans and then a layer of spicy rice, topped with another fried tortilla. We cut them with the pizza cutter and ate them sort of quesadilla style. They were delicious!
Here's the real recipe: Spicy Rice
Cook the desired amount of rice in chicken broth instead of water. When it's done add a small spoonful of chili sauce, or more if you like it really spicy. Add 1/4 cup tomato sauce and 2 T cream cheese. Stir until cheese melts and everything is combined. Eat it now or serve it as a side or in your favorite Mexican style dish!
Today I made tostadas, kind of. I made refried beans, spicy rice and fried corn tortillas. I forgot to cook meat and we were out of peppers and onions. I had diced tomato in the refrigerator but forgot to add them. Sometimes new recipes are born of forgetfulness.
On the bottom was, of course, the corn tortilla. Then a layer of refried beans and then a layer of spicy rice, topped with another fried tortilla. We cut them with the pizza cutter and ate them sort of quesadilla style. They were delicious!
Here's the real recipe: Spicy Rice
Cook the desired amount of rice in chicken broth instead of water. When it's done add a small spoonful of chili sauce, or more if you like it really spicy. Add 1/4 cup tomato sauce and 2 T cream cheese. Stir until cheese melts and everything is combined. Eat it now or serve it as a side or in your favorite Mexican style dish!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Alfredo Sauce or Kitchen Glue
I'm not saying that Alfredo sauce tastes like glue or has other unwanted glue properties, rather that Alfredo sauce can hold a dish together and you can stick anything in it. We LOVE Alfredo sauce, so I make it regularly. Right about now you are imagining either a jar of white sauce or a sauce pan full of scratch sauce. If you are thinking of jar sauce, stop it! That stuff is terrible! Read on and learn how to make the most basic sauce that you can easily customize. Wow your friends with this easiest of all recipes. Or if chicken noodle soup isn't working, this is a great comfort food when served with pasta.
Of course, like with many popular recipes, there are hundreds of variations. I have tried MANY of them, and I'm going to share the one that is successful every time. Some recipes are just not that good. This is a quick recipe, and with it you should be able to serve dinner in 30 minutes or less. (Provided you know how to cook more than one thing at a time. If you can't boil pasta, grill chicken and steam broccoli all at the same time you made need help with the sauce whisking.)
So to start, gather your ingredients! For a simple sauce (that will turn out and be tasty) you need only flour, butter, milk and Parmesan cheese. We can add many things to this, but that's for later. You will also need a medium sauce pan (I use a non-stick sauce pan), a silicone coated whisk (or regular for pans without coating) and a couple measuring cups and measuring spoons.
In your medium sauce pan melt butter over medium heat (med-low is better than med-high). When the butter foams, whisk in an equal amount of flour (2T butter and 2T flour works quite well). I use a non-stick medium sauce pan so I use a silicone coated whisk. I strongly recommend whisking, though it will turn out using spoon stirring, whisking is just easier, and shouldn't cooking be easy? Heat the butter and flour for at least 3 minutes, with an occasional whisk to prevent sticking or burning, or a continual whisk if you're nervous about scorching. The butter and flour (which is now a "roux") may darken a little in color, and this is fine. We cook the roux to prevent a starchy flavor from dominating the sauce.
To the roux you will add 2 cups of milk, in increments, whisking to combine completely. Again, you can use a spoon to stir, but it will take a little longer. Add 1/4-1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (depending on taste and desired thickness of the sauce) and whisk to combine. Simmer (not boil) for 4-6 minutes, and it will start to thicken (the longer it cooks the thicker it will be).
Serve with pasta, chicken, broccoli, bruschetta, pico de gallo, mushrooms, green onions, asparagus... the options are vast, because this is yummy! If you have leftover veggies or meat in your refrigerator, this is a good recipe to put them in. This may be technically a cream sauce more than an Alfredo sauce, but I always just call it creamy Alfredo sauce.
Now for variations! When you originally melt the butter you can add a clove or two of pressed garlic, chives and other herbs to taste or even diced onions.
Instead of 2 cups of milk you can add 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of chicken broth or 1 cup of white wine or even 1 cup of tomato juice (sauce is a little too thick). You can even skip the milk altogether and add any combination of those things! (I have never tried it with just tomato juice though, I've always used milk and tomato juice together.)
And in addition to the Parmesan cheese you can add whatever kind of cheese you like - mozzarella, provolone and cream cheese work very well. I have heard of blending cottage cheese in a food processor and adding it!
Of course, like with many popular recipes, there are hundreds of variations. I have tried MANY of them, and I'm going to share the one that is successful every time. Some recipes are just not that good. This is a quick recipe, and with it you should be able to serve dinner in 30 minutes or less. (Provided you know how to cook more than one thing at a time. If you can't boil pasta, grill chicken and steam broccoli all at the same time you made need help with the sauce whisking.)
So to start, gather your ingredients! For a simple sauce (that will turn out and be tasty) you need only flour, butter, milk and Parmesan cheese. We can add many things to this, but that's for later. You will also need a medium sauce pan (I use a non-stick sauce pan), a silicone coated whisk (or regular for pans without coating) and a couple measuring cups and measuring spoons.
In your medium sauce pan melt butter over medium heat (med-low is better than med-high). When the butter foams, whisk in an equal amount of flour (2T butter and 2T flour works quite well). I use a non-stick medium sauce pan so I use a silicone coated whisk. I strongly recommend whisking, though it will turn out using spoon stirring, whisking is just easier, and shouldn't cooking be easy? Heat the butter and flour for at least 3 minutes, with an occasional whisk to prevent sticking or burning, or a continual whisk if you're nervous about scorching. The butter and flour (which is now a "roux") may darken a little in color, and this is fine. We cook the roux to prevent a starchy flavor from dominating the sauce.
To the roux you will add 2 cups of milk, in increments, whisking to combine completely. Again, you can use a spoon to stir, but it will take a little longer. Add 1/4-1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (depending on taste and desired thickness of the sauce) and whisk to combine. Simmer (not boil) for 4-6 minutes, and it will start to thicken (the longer it cooks the thicker it will be).
Serve with pasta, chicken, broccoli, bruschetta, pico de gallo, mushrooms, green onions, asparagus... the options are vast, because this is yummy! If you have leftover veggies or meat in your refrigerator, this is a good recipe to put them in. This may be technically a cream sauce more than an Alfredo sauce, but I always just call it creamy Alfredo sauce.
Now for variations! When you originally melt the butter you can add a clove or two of pressed garlic, chives and other herbs to taste or even diced onions.
Instead of 2 cups of milk you can add 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of chicken broth or 1 cup of white wine or even 1 cup of tomato juice (sauce is a little too thick). You can even skip the milk altogether and add any combination of those things! (I have never tried it with just tomato juice though, I've always used milk and tomato juice together.)
And in addition to the Parmesan cheese you can add whatever kind of cheese you like - mozzarella, provolone and cream cheese work very well. I have heard of blending cottage cheese in a food processor and adding it!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Champagne Cake (A Birthday Story)
This was another calendar recipe, and it looked so good I had to make it for Shane's birthday. It was May's picture, so it was like fate. So we procured a white cake mix, pink champagne, and heavy whipping cream. All the other ingredients we had on hand. (Milk, eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla, powdered sugar)
In the picture there are four pink layers with fluffy white frosting in between. My cake was a little different. I didn't use any food coloring to make it pink (even though Shane said he'd totally rock a pink cake) because I only have green food coloring left over from St. Patrick's Day's Green Eats. And my cake was only two layers. Not because it would be too hard to do four or I didn't have time or didn't feel like it, but because I dropped one of the cakes on the counter when I was taking them out of the oven. My cake pan manufacturers thought it would be just brilliant to make the outside with a non-stick coating as well. Not such a good idea after all. I put the cake back into the pan and later I was able to frost the cracked cake back together, but there was no way I'd be able to make layers with it like that.
But back to the beginning of this story! I separated my eggs into my batter bowl (I hate making cake without it now, since it has the measuring cup pouring shape) and so not to be wasteful I made a tiny egg yolk omelet, which I accidentally crisped a little while trying to figure out if you need to coat non-stick baking pans. I never did find the answer but coated them anyway.
To the egg whites I added milk, vegetable oil and double vanilla (vanilla is the best, and I say you can never use too much! You can, however, use way too much almond extract) Then, just like my recipe said, I took the whisk to it and added the cake mix. It was a horrible un-whiskable mess. Then I remembered I had forgotten to add the champagne. I poured in the champagne, and a little for me on the side, to test it. (I tested it again a little later, too.) And it was still a horrible un-whiskable mess. So I scraped out the cake "batter" from my whisk and used a spatula to gently stir in the champagne, it took a few minutes to fully incorporate and I thought I had ruined it! But finally it began to homogenize and I stopped freaking out. Batter into the coated pans, bake for 20 minutes.
I got out everything for the frosting except for the heavy whipping cream, which I waited to be the last thing I got out. The colder your whipping cream, the faster you'll get to soft peaks (my goal). So into my bowl went 1/2 cup powdered sugar and again double vanilla, with 1 pint of heavy whipping cream. I stirred slowly at first to avoid flinging powdered sugar and cream all over the kitchen. Then I turned the beater on medium until it just began to thicken. Earlier, I had quartered 3 marshmallows and put them in the microwave, when the cream began to thicken I turned them on for 15 seconds and immediately added them to the cream, beating on high. There was some splashing, but not too much. I beat the cream for the next 20 minutes, and was not quite to soft peaks when the cakes finished baking.
The cream (future frosting) went into the refrigerator for a much needed chill, so I could take the cakes out to cool. I let the cakes cool and the cream chill for about 20 minutes before turning out the cakes and beating the cream to soft peaks, which didn't take long since I had done most of the work earlier and it had had a chance to chill.
I put the broken cake on my cake pedestal, because I say, if you're going to bake you may as well be fancy about it. I don't bake often, so it's like a special occasion. The broken cake was the bottom layer, so I scooped a big pile of frosting (formerly cream) onto the cake and spread. It was so easy! I had never used a cream frosting like this before, and it was so smooth and not sticky at all (like jar frosting which is basically sugar paste). The other cake went on top and the rest of the frosting I scooped onto the top of that and spread and smoothed down the sides. This cake took about 45 seconds to frost, it was amazing! This is the only way I'm making frosting from now on. The cream may be more expensive than buying jar frosting, but it tastes so much better and is so easy to use that the added cost and effort are worth it. Especially considering I make cake like twice a year. And unlike other homemade frosting which call for more powdered sugar than anything else, this frosting doesn't harden. (Even refrigerated overnight, it was still soft and fluffy)
I refrigerated the cake until time to sing happy birthday, cut the cake and serve it! I used my new high heel cake server because it is fabulous and perfect for the job. We also finished the champagne with the cake, and it was a perfect pairing.
In the picture there are four pink layers with fluffy white frosting in between. My cake was a little different. I didn't use any food coloring to make it pink (even though Shane said he'd totally rock a pink cake) because I only have green food coloring left over from St. Patrick's Day's Green Eats. And my cake was only two layers. Not because it would be too hard to do four or I didn't have time or didn't feel like it, but because I dropped one of the cakes on the counter when I was taking them out of the oven. My cake pan manufacturers thought it would be just brilliant to make the outside with a non-stick coating as well. Not such a good idea after all. I put the cake back into the pan and later I was able to frost the cracked cake back together, but there was no way I'd be able to make layers with it like that.
But back to the beginning of this story! I separated my eggs into my batter bowl (I hate making cake without it now, since it has the measuring cup pouring shape) and so not to be wasteful I made a tiny egg yolk omelet, which I accidentally crisped a little while trying to figure out if you need to coat non-stick baking pans. I never did find the answer but coated them anyway.
To the egg whites I added milk, vegetable oil and double vanilla (vanilla is the best, and I say you can never use too much! You can, however, use way too much almond extract) Then, just like my recipe said, I took the whisk to it and added the cake mix. It was a horrible un-whiskable mess. Then I remembered I had forgotten to add the champagne. I poured in the champagne, and a little for me on the side, to test it. (I tested it again a little later, too.) And it was still a horrible un-whiskable mess. So I scraped out the cake "batter" from my whisk and used a spatula to gently stir in the champagne, it took a few minutes to fully incorporate and I thought I had ruined it! But finally it began to homogenize and I stopped freaking out. Batter into the coated pans, bake for 20 minutes.
I got out everything for the frosting except for the heavy whipping cream, which I waited to be the last thing I got out. The colder your whipping cream, the faster you'll get to soft peaks (my goal). So into my bowl went 1/2 cup powdered sugar and again double vanilla, with 1 pint of heavy whipping cream. I stirred slowly at first to avoid flinging powdered sugar and cream all over the kitchen. Then I turned the beater on medium until it just began to thicken. Earlier, I had quartered 3 marshmallows and put them in the microwave, when the cream began to thicken I turned them on for 15 seconds and immediately added them to the cream, beating on high. There was some splashing, but not too much. I beat the cream for the next 20 minutes, and was not quite to soft peaks when the cakes finished baking.
The cream (future frosting) went into the refrigerator for a much needed chill, so I could take the cakes out to cool. I let the cakes cool and the cream chill for about 20 minutes before turning out the cakes and beating the cream to soft peaks, which didn't take long since I had done most of the work earlier and it had had a chance to chill.
I put the broken cake on my cake pedestal, because I say, if you're going to bake you may as well be fancy about it. I don't bake often, so it's like a special occasion. The broken cake was the bottom layer, so I scooped a big pile of frosting (formerly cream) onto the cake and spread. It was so easy! I had never used a cream frosting like this before, and it was so smooth and not sticky at all (like jar frosting which is basically sugar paste). The other cake went on top and the rest of the frosting I scooped onto the top of that and spread and smoothed down the sides. This cake took about 45 seconds to frost, it was amazing! This is the only way I'm making frosting from now on. The cream may be more expensive than buying jar frosting, but it tastes so much better and is so easy to use that the added cost and effort are worth it. Especially considering I make cake like twice a year. And unlike other homemade frosting which call for more powdered sugar than anything else, this frosting doesn't harden. (Even refrigerated overnight, it was still soft and fluffy)
I refrigerated the cake until time to sing happy birthday, cut the cake and serve it! I used my new high heel cake server because it is fabulous and perfect for the job. We also finished the champagne with the cake, and it was a perfect pairing.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Curry Chicken Ramen
A friend emailed me a recipe, asked if I'd make it when he came over - it looked good and not too hard, and it called for curry (one of my favorite flavors) so I said sure! I then lost the recipe and half forgot about it. Yesterday we were facebook chatting and the recipe came up... had to find it, but luckily the email search feature came to my rescue, the recipe was found and the day was saved.
Of course, I didn't go shopping for any of the ingredients and I didn't even read the instructions until today, while I was writing down the recipe so I would know what to cook.
The recipe called for potatoes, carrots, turnips, parsnips and other similar vegetables. I had carrots only so I sliced a couple handfuls of baby carrots and put them on the boil for 4 minutes. The recipe didn't call for onions, but I put onions in almost everything, so I chopped half of one and set it aside. Then I diced the chicken and put it in my large skillet with olive oil, 1 clove garlic (pressed with my trusty garlic press! I use that thing almost every day, if there is one thing every kitchen needs it is a garlic press!), and 1 tsp each chili powder, crushed rosemary, curry (I used red), and "grainy" mustard (I used a stoneground which had a bunch of whole seeds still in it, very tart and very nice). After a minute or two when the chicken was no longer pink on the outside I added the onion and drained carrots, stirred and covered.
(On a side note I used dried rosemary leaves that I crushed using my marble mortar and pestle. A mortar and pestle is not a standard kitchen object, but I think it should be. I may not use it every week or even every month, but there are some things that just don't turn out right if you don't have a set! I could have tossed my leaves into my herb grinder [i.e. our 2nd coffee grinder] but they would have gone too powdery. I could have crushed them by hand, but then they would have been too hard. In the end it was my mortar and pestle which gave me the consistency I was looking for.)
Then I started to rummage through my cupboard looking for something fast that would go well with this chicken. Pasta didn't sound right and neither did egg noodles. Rice and barley would take too long and I didn't have minute rice or anything like that. Then I found in the back of the cupboard a food I didn't remember we even had - ramen noodles. And I thought, why not? I can make them on the side and if they're terrible when I taste them together, I can throw them out, they cost 25 cents so it's not a big deal.
I boiled the noodles for 5 minutes and before draining, I reserved 1 ladle of the water. Then I added the seasoning packet and the ladle of water to the noodles and stirred, tasted, and of course they tasted like bland but too salty ramen noodles. My chicken called for 1/4 cup creme fraiche, which I did not have, and I did not have any suitable substitute, so I decided I was going to use milk and this recipe was just going to have to turn out anyway!
I stirred the milk in with the ramen noodles and tasted them again... you would never believe it but adding milk to ramen noodles makes them taste edible, even good! It was amazing, so I stirred them in with the chicken let it sizzle a moment and tasted this culinary concoction, to my amazement and delight it tasted pretty good! Next time I will probably add more curry, because I LOVE curry, but most people would probably prefer it with the current amount of curry.
I seriously deviated from the recipe on this one, but I think it turned out better than what the recipe would have. And I didn't feel like baking, which is what the recipe wanted me to do with the chicken and potatoes.
Of course, I didn't go shopping for any of the ingredients and I didn't even read the instructions until today, while I was writing down the recipe so I would know what to cook.
The recipe called for potatoes, carrots, turnips, parsnips and other similar vegetables. I had carrots only so I sliced a couple handfuls of baby carrots and put them on the boil for 4 minutes. The recipe didn't call for onions, but I put onions in almost everything, so I chopped half of one and set it aside. Then I diced the chicken and put it in my large skillet with olive oil, 1 clove garlic (pressed with my trusty garlic press! I use that thing almost every day, if there is one thing every kitchen needs it is a garlic press!), and 1 tsp each chili powder, crushed rosemary, curry (I used red), and "grainy" mustard (I used a stoneground which had a bunch of whole seeds still in it, very tart and very nice). After a minute or two when the chicken was no longer pink on the outside I added the onion and drained carrots, stirred and covered.
(On a side note I used dried rosemary leaves that I crushed using my marble mortar and pestle. A mortar and pestle is not a standard kitchen object, but I think it should be. I may not use it every week or even every month, but there are some things that just don't turn out right if you don't have a set! I could have tossed my leaves into my herb grinder [i.e. our 2nd coffee grinder] but they would have gone too powdery. I could have crushed them by hand, but then they would have been too hard. In the end it was my mortar and pestle which gave me the consistency I was looking for.)
Then I started to rummage through my cupboard looking for something fast that would go well with this chicken. Pasta didn't sound right and neither did egg noodles. Rice and barley would take too long and I didn't have minute rice or anything like that. Then I found in the back of the cupboard a food I didn't remember we even had - ramen noodles. And I thought, why not? I can make them on the side and if they're terrible when I taste them together, I can throw them out, they cost 25 cents so it's not a big deal.
I boiled the noodles for 5 minutes and before draining, I reserved 1 ladle of the water. Then I added the seasoning packet and the ladle of water to the noodles and stirred, tasted, and of course they tasted like bland but too salty ramen noodles. My chicken called for 1/4 cup creme fraiche, which I did not have, and I did not have any suitable substitute, so I decided I was going to use milk and this recipe was just going to have to turn out anyway!
I stirred the milk in with the ramen noodles and tasted them again... you would never believe it but adding milk to ramen noodles makes them taste edible, even good! It was amazing, so I stirred them in with the chicken let it sizzle a moment and tasted this culinary concoction, to my amazement and delight it tasted pretty good! Next time I will probably add more curry, because I LOVE curry, but most people would probably prefer it with the current amount of curry.
I seriously deviated from the recipe on this one, but I think it turned out better than what the recipe would have. And I didn't feel like baking, which is what the recipe wanted me to do with the chicken and potatoes.
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